REDUPLICATION IN NIGERIAN PIDGIN
3.0 Introduction
This chapter describes reduplicated forms in Nigerian
pidgin and how they are classified syntactically.
3.1 Reduplication in
Nigerian pidgin
Reduplication
is the process by which a category or constituent of a sentence can be doubled.
Crystal (2003) describes reduplication as a process of repetition whereby the
form of a prefix/suffix reflects certain phonological characteristics of the
root. He also observed that reduplication is morphological process whereby a
process of repetition occurs. The Nigerian pidgin exhibits several word
formulation processes including borrowing, coinage and blending reduplication.
This study, looks at word formation processes, adjectives, intensifiers,
emphasis, duplicity, plurality, nominalization, onomatopoeic expressions and
even nick-naming.
3.2 Lexical
reduplication in Nigerian pidgin
This involves a repetition of a part of a word or a whole
simple word which already exist in Nigerian pidgin.
3.2.1 Examples are in Adjectives,
i. /sik/ - ‘sick’
/sikisiki/ - ‘someone who is always sickly’
ii. /play play/ - someone
who is always playful
/pis/-‘someone who bed wet
frequently’
iv. /tak/- ‘talk’
/taktak/- ‘prolonged
chatter’
v. /waka/-‘walk’
/wakawaka/- ‘someone who
is always out and about.
Vi/lai/- ‘lie’
/lai lai/- ‘someone who
tells a lot of lie’
/krail/- ‘cry’
/krai krai/ - ‘someone is
constantly crying’
viii. /chop/- ‘eat, food’
/chop chop/- ‘someone who
eats a lot’
vix. /beg/- ‘beg’
/begibegi/ - ‘someone who
begs for things a lot’
/luk/- ‘look, stare’
/lukuluku/ - ‘someone who
stares or gaped’
3.2.2 Intensifiers
Reduplication intensifies or modifies the meaning of a
simple form.
i. /fain pikin/- ‘lovely
child’
/fain fain pikin/- ‘a
really lovely child’
ii. /Ben/ - ‘bend’
/ben ben/ - ‘crooked
Iii /naw/ - ‘now’
/naw naw/ - ‘immediately’
/chook/- ‘pierce’
/chooka chooka/- ‘thorns’
Reduplication
in Nigeria Pidgin is used to express different grammatical and lexical
functions. It is used to express continuous activity.
3.3 Syntactic
analysis of lexical reduplication
In
doing a syntactic analysis of the reduplicated words in Nigerian Pidgin, we try
to see the different part of speech in which reduplicated words can be
analysed.
3.3.1 Forms of
reduplicated words
Forms of reduplicated
words in Nigerian Pidgin that can be classified under noun are presented in the
following examples:
i. Sabi sabi nai dey worri
you (n)
lit: One who knows all
ii. Una dey sell kaikai
for here (n)
lit: Dry gin
iv. Sweet sweet things dem
dey cause jedijedi o! (n)
lit. To make an purge
iv. Kraikrai don dey tire (n)
lit: Someone who crys
vi. Dem like to de form
holyholy for church (n)
lit: Being sanctimonious
viii. Na tenten naira dem
dey sell gaarri now (n)
lit: The cost of garri
viii. You go chop
kpuffkpuff (n)
lit: A kind of snack
ix. De rain don make
potopoto dey everywhere (n)
lit: Mud
x. na fearfear make am
run, e no get mind (n)
lit: Someone that is not
brave, a coward:
other examples of
reduplicated words in nouns includes
-/sansan/- ‘sand’
- /boyboy/- ‘maid or
servant’
-/laflaf/- ‘one who laughs
a lot’
-/wayowayo/- ‘one who
tricks others’
-/soffersofer/- ‘a poor
man, hardship’
-/chinchin/ - ‘a kind of
snack’
-/followfollow/- ‘one who
follow’
-/wakawaka/- ‘a restless
person’
/kabukaba/- ‘a taxi
driver’
3.3.2 Adjectives
These are reduplicated words in Nigerian Pidgin (NP) which
are often used to describe someone or something. They are classified as
adjectives.
i. Give me de oda
shineshine cloth for hanger (Adj)
lit: Sparkling
ii. Na yahooyahoo boys
them bi o
lit: People involved in
internet scam
iv. Which kind bunbun food
bi this na? (adj)
lit: Burnt
iv. na waterwater soup she
sabi cook (adj)
lit: Watery
vi. Na with korokoro eyes
nai I use see her (adj)
lit: Plain
vii: Yusuu that wurukwuru
man? No trust am for one day (adj)
lit: A dis honest person
viii. Na smallsmall pikin
dem dey die dis days (adj)
lit: Little
ix. Laflaf woman! Wetin
dey make you laf again (adj)
lit: One who always
laughs.
Other examples of
adjectives in reduplicated words are:
-
Pispis – ‘one who urinates a lot’
-
Bitebite- ‘one who bites’
-
Shouthout-‘ one who shouts a lot’
-
Shukushuku- ‘thorns’
-
Begibegi - ‘one who begs a thing’
-
Teartear – ‘torn’
-
Copycopy – ‘one who copies’
-
Borrowborrow- ‘one who borrows a thing from someone
-
Skata skata- ‘scattered’
3.3.3 Adverb
These words are mostly used to tell the manner with which
something is done, the time or place of occurrence.
i. Abge, do the work
shapshap, mak I go (adv)
lit: Quickly
ii. Everything wey dey
have do finish kpatakpata (adv)
lit: Completely
iii. Drinks dey Nyafunyafu
(adv)
lit: Plenty
iv. Sister Jane! Abeg I
need dat thing naunau (adv)
lit: Immediatley
x. Abeg drive de moto jeje
o! (adv)
lit: Gently
Other examples of adverbs
in reduplicated words are;
-
/magumagu/- ‘trickily’
-
/wuruwuru/- ‘dubiously’
-
/watawata/- ‘watery’
-
/samsam/- ‘completely’
-
/kia kia/- ‘quickly’
-
/sofri sofri/- ‘easy’
-
/wandaywanday/-‘soon’
-
/today today/- ‘immediately’
-
/hurihuri/- ‘fastly’
3.3.4 Verbs
Reduplicated
words that are classified as verbs simply denote the action carried out or a
kind of activity that was performed. The data below illustrates this
phenomenon.
i. You too dey chochop (v)
lit: Eats a lot
ii. You too day fearfear,
try gather mind (v)
lit: Scared
iv. No dey lielie, I see
you with my korokoro eyes (v)
lit: Lies
iv. The market don
yamayama finish (v)
lit: Spoil
v. Why you dey sleep sleep
like person wey carri belle (v)
lit: Sleeping
vi. Face front, you too
dey lookulooku
lit: Staring
vii. na so you dey laflaf
so tey water commot from your eye.
Lit: Laughing tirelessly
Viii: Take an easy my
brother, no dey vexvex (v)
Lit: The act of being
angry
ix. Your pikin don
shitshit for em body
lit: The act of defecating
x. You too day folofolo,
you no get sense
lit: The act of
accompanying
Other examples includes:
-
Turnturn-not straight forward
-
Putput-investing
-
Crycry-crying
-
Smesme-sluggish
-
Touchtouch- touching
-
Talktalk-gossip
-
Jagajaga- rough
-
Scatascata- scattered
-
Fightifighti-fighting
-
Carry carry-carrying
-
Writiwrite-writing
3.3.5 Preposition
This
traditionally used to the show the position of something or person. It does not
occur as a common syntactic category in Nigerian Pidgin. An example is given
below:
i. I dey trek go farfar
school (prep)
lit: Faw away
ii. De money dey inside
inside my pocket (prep)
lit: Inside
iii. Na ondaonda de basket
nai de crayfish dey (prep)
lit: Beneath
iv. Your towel dey for
downdown bag
lit: Down
3.3.6 Interjection
Interjection
is a term used to refer to a part of speech which performs emotive function.
There are quite a few interjections in Nigerian Pidgin as shown below.
i. Abegabeg! No vex, I go
pay you nextweek (inter)
Lit: Pleading
ii. Trutru, I swear ! no
bi mi tak am (inter)
Lit: Swearing
iii. Lailai O ! I no
follow go dere (inter)
Lit: Denial
This
study shows that a word can occur in different word class depending on the
function performs. A reduplicated word in the sentential level can either
function as a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb, depending on the function it
performs.
3.3.7 Other functions
of reduplication in Nigerian Pidgin
Reduplication can be used
to show numerals
i. Di people bin enta
wanwan
Lit: The people entered
one by one
b. Give dem tutu
Lit: Give them two each
2. Reduplication is
systematically exploited for emphasis through derivational morphemes.
a. /E fain/ ‘it is lovely’
/E fain well well/ ‘it is very lovely’
b. /E big / ‘it is big’
/E big well well/ - ‘it is
very big’
c. /E skata/ - ‘it is
scattered’
/E skata skata/ - ‘it is
very scattered’
d. /come today today/ come
today (not another day)
3. Reduplication is used in
nicknaming
a. /mama talk talk/ –
‘Mrs. Loquacious’
b. /Oga tif tif/ - Mr. thief
4. Reduplication can be
used to indicate plurity
a. Na so so stone stone
full the bucket
lit: Only stones are in
the bucket
b. na so so carpet carpet
dey
Lit: It is only carpets
everywhere
5. Reduplication is used
to suggest duplicity
a. /Holi Holi/ -
‘santimonious’
b. /ton ton/- ‘make
excuses’
c/kona kona/ -‘trickly’
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